Debriefed
by SciFiDVM
Summary: SG1 returns from their last mission as a team. My attempt at a postS8 preS9.


**Disclaimer:** I get no money for this. They aren't mine... but oh the things I would do with some of them if they were...

**Rating: **K+

**Spoilers: **Everything up to Season 9 and Avalon pt. 1

**Synopsis:** SG-1 returns from their last mission as a team

**Debriefed**

General O'Neill stood anxiously in the command room as the Stargate began to glow and the shimmering blue wormhole burst to life behind the closed iris.

"Scheduled off-world activation." Walter announced, "Receiving IDC, it's SG-1."

"Well, they're knocking. Let's let 'em in." O'Neill commanded and headed down to the gate room.

"Opening the iris." Walter responded as he placed his hand on the control and the iris dilated open.

Carter was the first to blip through the event horizon. She took about three steps before freezing on the ramp. Teal'c followed next and stopped at Carter's side. Daniel Jackson rematerialized facing backwards, as he had turned to wave to the people of P3X131 before passing through the gate. As he blindly backed down the ramp he bumped square into Teal'c. Startled, Daniel now realized why his teammates had stopped in their tracks at the top of the ramp. Filling the gate room and the control room was every single member of the SGC. The huge crowd overflowed into the hallways, yet was dead silent.

The wormhole flickered closed behind them and Walter's voice rang over the intercom, "Welcome home SG-1." At that the crowd burst into applause.

Daniel smiled, waved to everyone, and headed down to where Jack was standing at the base of the ramp. Teal'c stood proudly and surveyed the room for a moment before following. Carter almost seemed to blush and hurried down the ramp.

O'Neill couldn't hide the smile as his team descended towards him. He and Teal'c clasped forearms in the traditional Jaffa greeting, as Teal'c smiled and nodded his head. He then shook Daniel's hand and in one motion pulled him into a half hug, patting him on the back. "Glad to see you too, Jack" Daniel smirked. Then he and Carter just stared at each other and smiled, "Nice to have you back, Carter." "It's nice to be back, Sir." She replied.

The crowd was now starting to close in around them. They patted them on the backs, saluted, and made comments like, "It's been an honor to serve with you", "Congratulations", and "We sure are going to miss you" before sneaking back to their posts. As the crowd around them began to thin, the General addressed the team, "Go get checked out in the infirmary and cleaned up. We'll debrief at 1900 hours." SG-1 nodded and headed off through the tide of well-wishers.

"The Totankans are a fairly primitive race resembling early Native American tribes found here in the U.S. in the early 1800's." Daniel's slideshow of photos from the mission played on the screen in the briefing room as he discussed the encounter. "It seems that their planet had been under the control of a lesser Goa'uld named Montu, who, shockingly, posed as a god, or in this case 'spirit', and enslaved them, forcing them to mine naquedah from an almost depleted vein that ran about three kilometers from their camp. That is, until about four months ago when the Goa'uld and all his Jaffa left to 'make war with the tribe of destroyers from above'. Seeing as this planet was directly in the path of the advancing replicators at that time, we believe that Montu attempted to defend against what he thought was a threat to his territory and was destroyed in the process."

"This planet appears to be Montu's only stronghold. As an aspiring system lord, protecting his domain would be Montu's greatest priority." Teal'c added.

O'Neill nodded repeatedly during the story as he wrote in a file. Whether he was taking notes or doodling, as was often the case, was unclear. Trying to hurry things up Carter added, "If Montu did engage the replicators we can be almost certain that he was destroyed."

"'Almost certain'?" O'Neill looked up from his file.

"We have had no intelligence reports of him surfacing in any other part of the galaxy at this time." Carter confirmed.

"Had he survived, Montu would most certainly have returned to his planet by this time." Teal'c interjected.

"Ok, so Montu's dead. One less Goa'uld to worry about. Moving on." O'Neill said, stifling a yawn.

Daniel continued, "Well, the history of these people talks about a recurrent 'sickness' brought by the planet's indigenous bovine population, which are quite similar to the buffalo here on Earth, and 'a magic' the spirit healers posses that cures this sickness.

Off of the general's look of "So?" Carter added "Sir, the sickness that these people are afflicted by is a bacteria very similar to the deadly, antibiotic resistant E. coli 0157 found here on Earth. We believe the 'magic' to be an antibiotic derived from a fungus indigenous to that planet. Brought to Earth, this antibiotic could be the answer to resistant bacteria that kill thousands of people here each year."

"Well that's something." O'Neill said encouragingly. "What do they want to trade for?"

"Generations of enslavement have caused them to loose many of their old ways and traditions. Upon my telling them about the Native Americans of Earth, they expressed a great desire to learn more about their culture and how it relates to their own." Daniel chimed in.

"It appears they are willing to trade the antibiotic fungus and their purification methods for cultural information alone, Sir." Carter translated.

"Thank you." O'Neill exclaimed with an exaggerated hand gesture. "Sounds like we have a deal. Daniel, I'm assuming you can recommend an anthro-whosey-whatsit that specializes in Indian culture to talk to these people?"

"Native American" Daniel corrected.

"Whatever." Jack retorted.

"And yes, I have a few names I will recommend." Daniel finished.

"Does anybody else have anything to add?" O'Neill asked. The room was silent. "Well then, we have a go for trade. I'll pass on the information to SG-18, who will handle the mission from this point." The emotions were almost palpable as the General paused. "I would like to say that it has been an honor to serve with each and every one of you. SG-1, you are dismissed."

With that O'Neill turned and walked into his office, closing the door behind him. The rest of the team sat silently for a minute until Sam let out a deep breath, "Whew. It's really over."

"So what do we do now?" Daniel asked.

"Is this not an occasion that would typically require food and alcoholic beverages of some sort?" Teal'c inquired.

"Good idea." Daniel responded. "O'Malley's?"

They all nodded in agreement. "I'll invite the General." Carter chimed as she walked over to the door and knocked.

O'Neill had just sat down at his desk and was about to start pretending to do paperwork, when he heard a knock on his office door. "Come in Carter" he yelled.

"Sir," Sam looked confused, "how did you know it was me?" She asked as she entered his office.

"Because Carter, you work with somebody long enough and you just start to get this sense…" he could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't buying it. "The door's not that thick. I heard you guys talking."

She rolled her eyes at him. "So then, does that mean you want to join us?"

Jack leaned back in his chair and casually announced, "I don't know Carter," he picked up a file off his desk, opened it, and acted like it needed his utmost attention, "these files… pretty important. And you know how much I do love paperwork."

Carter rolled her eyes again, reached across the desk, took the file from his hands, flipped it over, and returned it to him, now right-side up. "See you in an hour then, sir?"

"Yeah." He mumbled as she turned, strode out the door, and headed off with the other members of SG-1.

The guys were already seated at a table in the back, close enough to the bar to be convenient, but not close enough to be overheard, when Sam arrived. Daniel slid out the empty chair for her, and as she sat down Jack passed her a beer. "Sorry I'm late. I hope I didn't miss anything." She said as she took a sip of her drink.

"Well you're already a round behind, and we were just discussing some of our more embarrassing off-world moments. Actually, since you weren't here, we were discussing some of _your_ more embarrassing off-world moments." Jack smirked at her.

After more than a few minutes of teasing banter between O'Neill and Carter, they went back to telling funny stories of their escapades over the years. Then, out of nowhere, Teal'c cracked a huge smile, as if he had just remembered something very funny. "Do you not all recall the occasion on which Jonas Quinn asked how it was that SG-1 always appeared for missions in matching attire. Then O'Neill informed him that such decisions were coordinated by phone in the morning prior to embarkation." Teal'c was having to try his hardest to hold back the laughter so that he could finish, "Jonas Quinn, believing O'Neill to have been speaking the truth, then proceeded to call O'Neill each morning for the next week to discuss the 'fashion' for the day." Carter giggled at the memory and Daniel laughed, as it was a "Jonas story" he had never heard before.

Jack thought back to being woken up at 0430 hours every day that week to the giddy voice of Jonas asking if they could all wear their blue uniforms that day, since those were his favorite. Jack shook his head. "I wonder how old Jonas is doing these days?" He said with a sarcastic sense of nostalgia.

"Speaking of Jonas," Carter said with a twinge of concern in her voice, "did anyone let him know that…" Her voice trailed off.

"That as of tomorrow the SG-1 that he knew will be no more, as its members scatter to the farthest reaches of the universe. Literally." Daniel finished for her.

"Yeah. That." Carter got out, hoping it didn't sound as depressed as she was starting to feel.

"Ah!" O'Neill blurted out, shaking his finger at the two doctors. "This is an occasion for happy reminiscing. There will be no pouting. That's an order."

"Sorry sir." Carter mumbled. None of them could think of anything to say for a while after that.

"I do believe that this night marks the end of a significant period in all our lives." Teal'c interjected to break the silence.

"Teal'c's right." Carter added. "I mean, think about all we've accomplished in the last eight years."

"We've saved the world at least what, 7, 8 times?" Jack asked.

"Not to mention the time we saved the alternate reality Earth." Carter chimed in.

"We just finished saving the entire galaxy. Twice. In like a week." Daniel commented like it was no big deal.

"Have we not also saved many other worlds from peril and enslavement?" Teal'c added.

"We kicked some serious Goa'uld butt." O'Neill announced.

"We destroyed the replicators." Was Carter's next contribution.

"We found the lost city of the Ancients." Daniel mused.

"We freed the Jaffa." Teal'c added simply.

"I got to blow up a star." Sam smiled.

"We met some real swell people." Jack joked.

"Think about it, sir." Carter interjected, "We really did. Take Teal'c, for example, or the Tok'ra."

"I guess Thor and the Asgard helped us out occasionally." Jack seceded.

"And don't forget the Nox and the Tollans." Daniel added.

"We are well on our way to becoming… the fifth race." Jack did his best to impersonate Thor, then added, "Do you think we'll ever meet the furlings?"

Carter had gotten quiet, and Jack noticed that his Thor impression failed to get a rise out of her. So he asked, "Carter? Are you disobeying a direct order?"

"Sorry sir. It's just that… I hadn't thought about the Tollans in a while." It was obvious she was trying not to let it get to her.

Daniel also started to remember the less fun parts of the last eight years. "We lost a lot of good people getting to where we are now."

"Kawalski" Jack said with sadness.

"Janet" Daniel choked out.

"Martouf" Carter remembered

"Sho'nak "Teal'c stated.

"Skaara" said Jack.

"My dad" Sam managed to get out.

"Sha're" Daniel whispered.

"You yourself, Daniel Jackson were lost to us at one point." Teal'c pointed out.

"Yeah, I gotta admit. I'm not really gonna miss the dying part." Daniel confessed.

"Or the torture." O'Neill added, "Definitely not going to miss the torture."

Carter tried to lighten the mood, "You know what I am going to miss? Seeing the look on Daniel's face whenever hew finds some artifact with Ancient writings on it."

"Ahh, much the same face you make whenever you get some new gadget to tinker with." Jack smiled at Sam. He smiled at her just a little too long.

Daniel and Teal'c shot each other a knowing glance and smirked.

"Daniel? T?" O'Neill used there names like a command to tell him what was so funny.

Teal'c spoke, despite the warning glances from Daniel telling him not to. "Daniel Jackson and I were simply confirming that we both regret that we will no longer see yours and Colonel Carter's attempts to hide your obvious but forbidden mutual desires for each other."

Jack had just taken a gulp of beer and nearly did a spit-take at his friend's blunt statement. Carter turned red and tried to will herself invisible. Daniel was initially a little afraid of what Jack might do to him, but now that he realized he probably wasn't going to receive any bodily damage, the situation became funny. "This conversation ends now." Jack demanded.

"Oh come on." Daniel pouted.

"Daniel!" Sam and Jack barked in unison.

Daniel shrugged and held up his hands as if to say "I give." He decided the best way to break the now somewhat awkward silence was to bring up a new topic, "Hey, remember that time when that Asgard, Loki, make a younger copy of Jack." And with that they once again began to relive some of their funnier moments from life at the SGC.

A few hours, and many stories later, Teal'c looked down at his watch and rose from the table. "I believe I should soon return to the SGC. I must make my final arrangements before my departure tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, I should really get back and start packing." Daniel groaned as he stood up. "Teal'c, can I get a ride with you."

"Certainly Daniel Jackson." He replied. "Jack O'Neill, Samantha Carter, I trust that I will see you tomorrow before I return to Daka'ra?"

They both stood up. O'Neill smiled at his friend, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Of course Teal'c." Carter smiled and hugged him then Daniel goodnight. "I should probably get back to the lab myself." She added.

They all threw some dollar bills on the table and filed out of the restaurant.

It was dark in the gate room, except for the ambient light coming from the monitors and display panels in the control room. Jack O'Neill stood in the empty, darkened briefing room. He looked through the Plexiglas star chart at the gate. "Never in my wildest dreams." He said under his breath. He couldn't help but admit that this was the end of an era, despite how he hated clichés.

Tomorrow Teal'c of Chulac, former First Prime of Apophis, the Jaffa that brought freedom to his people, and best friend of one General Jack O'Neill would leave his place among the Tau'ri and return to help rule the new Free Jaffa Nation that he helped create.

A week later, Jack realized he would be leaving for Washington D.C., that's assuming he ever finished all the paperwork he still needed to file here. He was soon to be Chief of Homeworld Security. The new job provided him with new opportunities. Opportunities that he would never have if he stayed at the SGC "given their working relationship or military ranks". He knew leaving was the right choice, but man, he was gonna miss this place.

A few weeks after that, Carter will leave for Area 51. "Nothing but gadgets and alien technology thingies as far as the eye can see. She'll be in heaven." He thought. She had been his second in command for years. Now there was the chance for her to be his… something else. "Not going to dwell." He mumbled to himself.

Then, in another week Daniel will leave with the crew of the Deadalus and return to Atlantis with Dr. Weir and her people. This world's foremost authority on the Ancients will finally get to see their city. Jack was sure there was no place Daniel would rather be. He remembered leaving Daniel on Abydos all those years ago. On that mission the archaeologist had earned some of his respect. In the years of missions that would follow, Jack learned that he was lucky to have earned Daniel's friendship.

He walked down to the gate room and up the ramp to the gate. This big ring of metal, dug out of the sands of Egypt had changed his life. "Or wait, was this the one from Antarctica? Ahh who can keep up with all that." He thought. He reached out his hand and ran his fingers over the closest glyph on the Stargate. It happened to be the upside down "V" with a dot on top. The glyph for their world. He smiled and turned to walk down the ramp, but was startled to see SG-1 standing at the bottom. They met halfway up the ramp and all stared at it for a minute.

Carter was the first to break the silence, "It's hard to believe that in just over a month none of the original SG-1 will be here anymore."

Jack put an arm over her shoulder, "Actually Carter, as hokey as it sounds, I've always considered her to be part of the team." He gestured to the Stargate. "And it'll always be here."

Daniel smiled softly, "I like that idea."

"I never stopped to think about it, but you're right." Carter thought out loud, "We never could have done any of the amazing things we've done over the years without the gate. It's always been there for us. It really is like a fifth member of SG-1."

They all spent one last moment staring at the Stargate. Each silently said their goodbyes to the "team member" that had so truly changed their lives. As they turned to walk out of the gate room, they realized that as they all leave and move on over the following weeks it will be the first time in the history of the program that something would have ever happened. SG-1 would be leaving a man behind.

The End


End file.
